The short answer
Pax Historia is an AI alternate-history sandbox where you run a country in your own words. Games like it are Hearts of Iron IV, Europa Universalis V, Victoria 3, Crusader Kings III, Civilization VII, NationStates, and WorldOS. LifeSim is a different take: you type anything, but you live one life in a real city.
What is Pax Historia?
Pax Historia calls itself “an alternate history sandbox game,” and its makers call it the first one powered by AI. You play as a country on a map of the world. You say what you do in your own words, and the AI decides how the other countries react. Players also make and share their own maps and starting points.
In its Y Combinator launch post, the team said it had 35,000 daily users. We could not find its prices on its own site, so we don't list them.
A note before the list
We make LifeSim, and LifeSim is not a strategy game. You don't run a country in it. So the list below is mostly other people's games: strategy games where you run a country too. We put LifeSim at the end, as a different take, for the part of Pax Historia that is about typing anything and seeing the AI answer.
Games like Pax Historia, compared
| Game | What you do | Runs on | How you pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pax Historia | Run a nation in alternate history, in your own words | Web | See its site |
| Hearts of Iron IV | Run a nation in World War II | Windows, Mac, Linux | Paid, on Steam |
| Europa Universalis V | Run a nation over five centuries | Windows | Paid, on Steam |
| Victoria 3 | Build a society in the 19th century | Windows, Mac, Linux | Paid, on Steam |
| Crusader Kings III | Lead a noble family in the Middle Ages | Windows, Mac, Linux | Paid, on Steam |
| Civilization VII | Lead an empire through the ages | Windows, Mac, Linux | Paid, on Steam |
| NationStates | Make a nation and answer issues | Web | Free |
| WorldOS | Play AI worlds made by users, in your own words | Web | Free Zaps daily. Plans from €5.99 a month. |
| LifeSim | Live one life in a real city, in your own words | Any browser, iPhone | Free. No ads, nothing to buy. |
The games in short
1. Hearts of Iron IV
A grand strategy game of World War II, by Paradox Development Studio. You take any nation and run its army, its industry, and its politics. It is out since 2016 on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Like Pax Historia, a game can go a very different way from real history. Unlike Pax Historia, you give orders with menus, not in your own words.
2. Europa Universalis V
The newest Europa Universalis, by Paradox Tinto, out since November 2025 on Windows. You play five centuries of history and use war, trade, or diplomacy. Europa Universalis IV, from 2013, is still played too, and it also runs on Mac and Linux.
3. Victoria 3
A grand strategy game of the 19th century, by Paradox Development Studio. You build a society and balance the groups in it. It is less about war and more about money, laws, and people.
4. Crusader Kings III
A grand strategy game of the Middle Ages, by Paradox Development Studio. You play a noble family, not a country, through marriages, plots, and wars. When your ruler dies, you go on as their heir.
5. Sid Meier’s Civilization VII
A turn-based strategy game by Firaxis Games, out since February 2025. You lead an empire from the ancient world to the modern age.
6. NationStates
A free government simulation in the browser, made by Max Barry and online since 2002. You make a nation, answer issues, and watch your country change. It is all text, with a big community on its forums. Its Wikipedia page says users made more than 10 million nations.
7. WorldOS
A web site of AI worlds made by users, at worldos.cc. Some are war and history games, such as a world set in 1914. Like Pax Historia, you type what you do and the AI plays it out. Each turn costs Zaps, its credits, with free Zaps every day. Its terms say you must be 18. Read LifeSim vs WorldOS.
A different take: LifeSim
LifeSim is a life sim, not a strategy game. You don't lead a nation. You live one life, as one person, in any real city on a 3D map of Earth. Like Pax Historia, you type what you want, in your own words, and an AI answers: here it is the people around you, who have jobs, homes, and friends, and who remember what you did. It is free in the browser and on iPhone, with no ads. Pick it if you like typing anything and seeing the world answer, but want to be one person in it.
Your first week in LifeSim
You pick a city. Any city, on a real map of Earth. You give your character a name and a reason to be there. Then you step out onto a real street, and there are people on it.
They’re not waiting for you. They have jobs to get to, homes to go back to, friends they see on Fridays. Say hi to one of them, in your own words, and they answer in theirs. Tell them something and they keep it. Tell their friend something and it gets around.
By the end of the week you have a place you go in the mornings, someone you’re avoiding, and someone you’re not. One player once stayed for thirteen hours straight. We checked.
LifeSim is a free game, in the browser and on iPhone. No ads and nothing to buy. Season 1 is in beta.
Which one should you play?
For a deep war game, play Hearts of Iron IV. For centuries of history, play Europa Universalis. For a free nation in the browser, play NationStates. For more AI worlds in your own words, try WorldOS. For one life in a real city, try LifeSim.
For more AI games, read AI life simulator games and text-based games where you type anything.
Questions
What is Pax Historia?
Pax Historia calls itself an alternate history sandbox game. You play as a country, say what you do in your own words, and an AI decides how the other countries react.
Is there a free game like Pax Historia?
NationStates is a free nation game in the browser, online since 2002. WorldOS gives free Zaps every day. LifeSim is free, but it is a life sim, not a strategy game.
Is there a game like Pax Historia on PC?
Yes. Hearts of Iron IV, Europa Universalis V, Victoria 3, Crusader Kings III, and Civilization VII are on Steam. You give orders with menus, not in your own words.
Is LifeSim like Pax Historia?
Only in one way: you type what you want and an AI answers. In LifeSim you don't run a country. You live as one person in a real city, and the people there remember you.